Open To The World
by TheHiddenRaven
Summary: (NOTE: Story is being rewritten and shall be posted under a new title. This one is simply as a basis for the author to use until the new one is flowing well) Aruba goes to the World Conference for the first time. What happens when she meets Brazil and America? America/AlfredxOC/Aruba Germany/LudwigxOC/Brazil I OWN NOTHING. Everything goes to their rightful owners and whatnot
1. Through the Open Door

I walked into the conference room and tried to hold in the nervousness I felt. It was my first time going to a World Conference and I had no idea how to handle it. I stood outside the door, reaching one hand up to grab the nob. I paused and collected myself. Once I took a deep breath to calm down I pushed the door open. There were already many countries milling around the room, waiting for the meeting to start. I quietly slipped into the room and decided to go over to one of the windows.

I walked past the countries that were allies and had gathered in groups. None of them noticed my presence. I sighed in relief as I reached the window without incident. I stared out at the garden for a few seconds before turning around to observe how the other countries act.

In one corner of the room, Britain was arguing with France. His face grew redder by the second. Having only heard about the constant rivalry between the two, I held back a smile as I realized the rumors about the two men were true. Quite a few countries stood around them observing the fight in amusement. I continued to look around the room.

I saw Germany sitting with Japan and North Italy looking positively annoyed as Italy happily talked about something that was probably completely irrelevant to the conversation they had been having beforehand. Japan stood, brushing off his white suit-looking outfit and walked over to the other Asian countries. Germany glared as his ally left him alone with Northern Italy. Suddenly, someone called order to the room.

"Alright," Britain said loudly. "Let's get this meeting started here people."

"Hey, Britain," France said lazily. "Who put you in charge of ze meeting?" Britain puffed up his chest angrily.

"Well, someone's got to take charge and I wouldn't trust a stupid frog like you to do it!" That set France off. The two immediately jumped into another argument. The other countries chose to ignore it and walked to their seats. I left my spot by the window and looked for my seat. I found the place that had "Aruba" on a little nameplate and sat down. Other countries were taking their seats and holding quiet conversation. I sat back and placed my hands in my lap, not sure what to do.

The chair next to me scraped and I looked up to see a tall man with blond hair, glasses, and blue eyes sitting down. He sat and looked over at me before smiling. "Hello," he said in a voice that sounded like honey. "I don't think I've ever seen you at a meeting before. My name's Alfred, the hero. I'm the rep for America. And you are?"

"I'm the rep for Aruba," I managed to stutter. Why was a man like America talking to ME? I couldn't believe he had even spared me a second glance.

"Aruba," he questioned. "I think I've heard of Aruba. You're the little island off the coast of Venezuela, right?" I nodded, unable to form a coherent sentence. "Well that's, like, totally awesome, man! So, Aruba, what's your name?" I blinked, thinking for a second.

"Arabella," I said quietly. Alfred's eyes narrowed slightly and he gave me a once over, causing me to blush.

"You sure are quiet," he said suddenly. I just nodded.

"Alfred," a voice called angrily. I jumped and whirled around to see a tall girl with raven hair and tan skin came over to us. "Why are you bothering this poor girl? You should know better than to mess with a smaller country," she scolded. She turned to me and the ferocity in her eyes died. "Are you okay? Alfred can be a little bold at times. I'm Catarina, the rep from Brazil." She smiled sweetly at me.

"I wasn't bothering her," America shouted in defense. "We were just talking! Honestly, Cat, I didn't do anything to her!" Catarina glared at him.

"Did he bother you," she asked taking the seat next to me. I glanced at the nameplate and saw that she was, in fact, supposed to sit next to me. I shook my head no. She looked at me in concern before putting her hand to my forehead. "Are you feeling alright? You're really quiet."

"That's what I just said," America said loudly. Catarina glared at him again and looked back at me. I pushed her hand off my head and sank into my seat some.

"I'm fine," I told them. "I'm naturally very quiet in a new situation. It's just worse than usual since it's my first time coming to the World Conference." Understanding dawned on both of their faces.

"Well that's all you had to say," America said, with Catarina nodding in fervent agreement. "Welcome to the Conference." I smiled tentatively. I heard a noise and turned around in time to see France and Britain heading towards us with their brawl. I quickly jumped out of my seat and to the left as the two quarrelers barreled through my seat and onto the table. I watched as they continued fighting, ignoring the chair they had knocked over.

I turned my head to see what I had landed on when I jumped and saw that I was sitting on America's lap. He stared at me, his eyes wide with shock. I stood and took a few steps away from him apologizing with every step. I felt myself collide with something and fell over, landing on my butt. I looked up and saw a tall man with blond hair and broad shoulders looking at me. He kneeled down and held out a hand to me.

"Are you okay," he asked with a German accent. I realized it was Germany. My own eyes went wide with shock. I nodded and quickly stood, ignoring his hand.

"I'm sorry," I said quietly. He looked at me confused. I felt a hand land on my shoulder and saw Brazil looking at me.

"Hey, what happened," she asked quickly.

"Well, just now I ran into um Germany," I said pointing to the blond man. He observed the two of us.

"Yeah, I saw that part," she said nonchalantly, although I noticed her sneaking glances over at the other country every now and then. "I mean before. One second you were there, and the next, your chair was on the floor and those to morons," she hitched her thumb over her shoulder to where France and Britain were now standing looking rather ashamed and continued. "Were making their way through your chair and where you had been seconds before. I mean, you were just gone. Those two ended up on the table and I looked over here in time to see you running into this guy. Hey, you should apologize," she suddenly shouted to the German.

He looked taken aback at her sudden change in tone. "I should," he said in disbelief. "She's the one who ran into me! I vas coming over here to stop these two from fighting!" Catarina's eyes lit up in anger.

"Yeah, and you should have seen the girl! I mean how could you miss her? She was right in front of you! Didn't you see Francis and Arthur knock over her chair? It's no wonder you lost World War II!"

"What is THAT supposed to mean? Of course I saw them knock over her chair! I'm not Italy you know! It is not my fault that we lost that war!"

"Not your fault," she shouted. "It was your damn army and leader that started the damn war! If you weren't such an idiot, maybe you would have seen her standing RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOU!" Catarina got in his face. "You could have seriously hurt her, you know that right? Apologize. Now." He got in her face too.

"No," he said bluntly.

"Someone should push their heads together," someone said beside me. I glanced over and saw France watching the scene in front of him. "They're worse than Angleterre and I." I smiled lightly. He had a point. There was obvious sexual tension between the two arguing in front of me.

"What do you mean no," Catarina said in a low voice.

"Exactly what it sounds like," he replied, getting closer to her face. "I mean no." I decided to intervene, realizing that Catarina was likely to turn to violence soon.

"Erm, Brazil," I called tentatively. She whirled on me.

"WHAT," she said angrily before realizing it was me. "Oh shit, sorry." She walked over to me. "What's up," she said in an off-hand tone. I took a deep breath.

"Stop fighting with Germany," I managed to say without my shyness forcing me to be quiet. She looked at me completely bewildered.

"What," she asked me. Germany came to stand next to her, having heard what I said. He too looked confused by my statement.

"It wasn't his fault. He doesn't need to apologize," I said simply. She stared at me as he got a guilty look on his face.

"No," he amended. "Brazil vas right. I should have been watching where I vas going."

"Not necessarily," I told him. "A lot of people don't notice the things around them when they're determined to do something; especially when that thing is as small and quiet as me. So, don't even worry about it. Now I know that I need to be more careful at these things." I shrugged my shoulders as though it was nothing. To me, it WAS nothing. I'm a small girl from a small country.

"I still need to watch where I'm going," Germany countered. Catarina whirled on him.

"Oh so you agree with her, but not me," she said angrily.

"Why would I listen to you," he stated calmly. She glared at him and he turned back to me.

"It's fine," I said, cutting him off as he prepared to speak. "I'm from a small country and not exactly a big person. I'm used to it. Not many people notice me and that's perfectly okay. I grew up like that. It's no big deal to me so don't worry about it, okay?" He nodded, completely speechless.

"You should count your lucky stars to have met such a forgiving and beautiful young lady, Germany," France said from behind me. I blushed. "If it had been me, I might have hit you."

"Yeah, yeah, I hate you too France, now can we get to zee meeting," Germany said.

"Of course," France said casting a wink my way. I chuckled nervously. _Perv,_ I thought to myself. I walked away from the Frenchman and went back to my seat. America was sitting in his with a pensive look on his face as he stared out the window. I remembered what happened earlier and blushed again. I quietly picked up my chair and fixed it before sitting down next to him and scooting in. Brazil took her place next to me and the meeting began. For the most part, I didn't pay attention aside from when they welcomed me.

"Everyone, we should welcome the first timer. I would like for you all to meet the representative for Aruba," Britain announced. I stood, blushing of course, and waved to everyone. They waved back and the meeting continued. I realized that these meetings were really just social events; a reason for the countries to gather. I stole glances at America every now and then, knowing I had to apologize for jumping on him.

However, when the meeting concluded, I couldn't find the courage and stood to leave silently.

"Hello Mon Amie," a voice said. I looked up and saw France walking over to me with a smirk on his face. He grabbed my hand and lightly kissed my fingers. "I am France," he said in an alluring voice.

"Aruba," I said nervously. I felt extremely uneasy at his passes towards me. I plucked my hand from his and walked towards the door.

"Wait," he called. "May I walk with you?"

"Erm," I said, not sure how to get rid of him. Suddenly, I felt someone grab my arm and pull me closer to them as they slid an arm around my shoulder.

"Actually, we were just about to go get something to eat, weren't we Aruba," America said from next to me. I looked away from France as I felt my eyes go wide and my face pale. I settled for a nod, not trusting my voice. When I could, I looked back at France who was staring at me in disbelief.

"You choose to go on a date with America and not moi, Mon Amie," he asked. I blushed at the word date. "No worries Mon Amie, there's always next time." He smiled and winked at me before sauntering off. I felt America's arm slide off my shoulder and him take a step away.

"Thank you," I said quietly. I went to walk around him but he grabbed my arm. I looked up at him for a second before looking down at the floor.

"I want to talk to you," he told me, lowering his voice so the others wouldn't hear. I only nodded, figuring there was no way out of this. He pulled me to the door and just as we were about to leave I saw Brazil. She was looking at us in confusion. I stopped America and looked at him.

"I want to tell Brazil something," I said quickly, slipping my arm from his hold and walking over to the exotic woman. "I'll explain it all later, okay?" She only nodded, bewildered. I slipped a paper with my number on it into her hand. "This is my cell. I figured we might not see each other later, so use this to call me in a couple hours. I know you're probably going to hound me about all this, so I'll explain it then. I have to go now, but I'll talk to you later. By Brazil!" I turned and left her dumbfounded. "Sorry about that Catarina," I said to myself. "I don't think I have a choice but to go talk to America…" I walked over to where America was waiting for me with his hands in his pockets. He raised an eyebrow at me when I came nearer but said nothing.

He walked out of the conference building and I followed. We walked quietly for a few minutes. I couldn't help but glance at his back every few seconds. Suddenly, he whirled on me, causing me run into him. I quickly bounced back and he caught my shoulders before I fell. He shook his head and chuckled lightly.

"You seem to fall a lot," he said. I felt myself blush again and looked away from him. I felt him scrutinizing me for a while. "What happened back there," he asked me. I looked at him, confused for a second. "When you… jumped out of your chair." He seemed uncomfortable at saying that I had jumped into his lap. I felt the blush get deeper and knew I must look like a cherry.

"I saw France and Britain fighting and they were coming closer to my chair. I knew if I didn't move, I would have gotten hit," I explained. "I just… jumped out of my chair. I didn't even realize I had um… landed on… you until I looked over at you… I'm sorry. It must have been extremely awkward for you." He seemed to think about this for a second before leaning back and shrugging.

"Hey, no one got hurt, right," he said nonchalantly. I nodded at the rhetorical question. "Then that's all that really matters…" he seemed to examine my face for a moment before adding, "It really wasn't that awkward, Arabella. I was just really surprised. You're clearly more comfortable around Cat, so I figured, after the fact of course, that you would have jumped to her side first. It shocked me is all." He smiled at me.

"Still, I shouldn't have jumped, well, into your lap. It was instinct to move out of the way…"

"Yeah, I got ya, no worries. Just calm down, K?" I nodded. "Good, now let's go eat. I'm starved." He started to walk away.

"Wait," I called. He turned back to me, still smiling. "You were serious about getting something to eat?" He shrugged again.

"Sure, why not? It's not like it's a date. We're just two friends going to get some dinner after a meeting." I smiled and walked lightly over to him.

"Well then what are you waiting for? I'm probably more starved than you are!" He scoffed.


	2. Dinner Rides & Brazil against the wall?

**Disclaimer: I own nothing! I WISH I was awesome enough to make something like Hetalia :)**

Enjoy!

P.S. I'll TRY to post everyday but I can't make any promises. For this week, I'll definitely have one up everyday until at least Friday.

* * *

><p>"Yeah right," he said with a laugh. "I don't know if you know this, but I can eat over 30 burgers without getting sick."<p>

"Oh, so THAT'S why you're so fat," I joked. He gave me a mock hurt look and patted his stomach.

"I'll have you know that this is all MUSCLE!" He flexed to prove it. I tried not to gawk at how large his biceps were.

"Uh huh, sure, whatever you say flab boy." I laughed and skipped ahead of him.

"Flab boy," he said, his voice taking a new tone. I turned back to look at him and saw an evil look on his face.

"Oh no," I said as he inched towards me.

"You'd better run little birdie, cause I'm gonna get you for that," he said. _Oh, fuck._ He started running after me and I squealed, turning to run away. We ran for the pier. I laughed as adrenaline shot through me giving me the energy to move even faster. I had just reached the pier when I felt a pair of arms wrap themselves around my stomach and lift me up. I laughed as he set me back down, not removing his arms. "Got you," he said breathily.

I felt his breath on my ear and had to conceal a shiver. We were both panting heavily and I was grinning like a child who had received a bike for their birthday. I looked over my shoulder and saw America's face two inches from mine. My grin slowly slipped as I realized the proximity. He looked at me for a few seconds before removing his hands and taking a step back. He cleared his throat uncomfortably.

I felt a blush creep onto my face as the adrenaline finally faded. My heart was pounding so hard I thought it might go right out of my chest. I walked to a bench and sat down, grateful to get off my feet when my knees started to get weak. America went over to the railing of the pier and looked out at the ocean.

I watched his neutral face, looking for any sign of emotion to know how he felt about what had happened. Seeing nothing, I quickly gave up and let out a sigh, turning to look at the ground.

After a few moments, America came and kneeled in front of me. "What happened to being starved," he asked with a smile. He stood and held out a hand. "Let's go eat. You might not be anymore, but I'm still starved." I smiled back and nodded, taking his hand. He pulled me to my feet and released my hand. He turned to walk away and looked back over his shoulder. "Come on, I know a great place further down the pier we can eat at," he called.

I quickly caught up with him. I tucked a strand of my hair behind my ear and turned to him. "So where are we eating," I asked him. He shook his head at me.

"Nope," he replied grinning. "It's a surprise! I'm really glad we had the meeting in Brooklyn, 'cause now I can show you my favorite restaurant here! It's really the best! And it's right next to the fair, so it's even better!" I grinned.

"It better be as good as you say America," I told him with a laugh. He frowned slightly.

"Arabella," he said turning to me just outside a small restaurant. "Really, you don't have to call me that. We aren't at war or at the conference. Just call me Alfred. I think we're to that point." I could feel the '_especially after you jumping in my lap and me chasing you like that_' tacked on to the end mentally. I sighed.

"Very well, ALFRED, if you insist." I laughed again as he smirked.

"Much better," he announced triumphantly. He faced the restaurant. "This is it," he told me with a smile. "This place has the best burgers in Brooklyn. Definitely a great place to go if it's your first time here. It is right," he added as an afterthought. I noticed the nervous look he got in his eye when he realized that I could have visited before.

I shook my head at him. "It's my first time here. I'm happy I can come to the best place in Brooklyn my first time in the country with you," I said happily. America, my mind refused to call him Alfred yet, grinned and grabbed my hand, towing me behind him.

"Good," he said as he headed into the restaurant. We were seated in a booth at the back of the restaurant. I looked around in awe. It was beautiful. The main colors were cerulean blue and a sort of crystalline green. The two colors contrasted each other, giving off the feeling of being in an exotic place. There was a small stage where a violinist was playing something by Mozart. The pianist behind him was playing the same piece, in a lower key.

"Hey, it's Austria," America said. I looked over my shoulder and saw a pompous looking man playing the piano. Upon hearing his name, Austria glanced over at us and gave us a curt nod. I slightly waved back and turned around.

"I take it he likes the piano," I said. America laughed.

"Yeah, you could say that." I looked back over my shoulder.

"He seems like a nice guy."

"Yeah, I guess he is. He isn't as awesome or heroic as me, but he's alright." I scoffed and started laughing. "Hey, don't mock my awesomeness!" this made me laugh harder. He started pouting. "You're mean," he said sticking his tongue out at me.

"You're the one who told France I was going out to eat with you," I said. "Not my fault you didn't actually get to know me before hand." I shrugged and sat back, pulling on the hem of my shirt slightly. I could feel myself growing more comfortable around him and knew it was only a matter of time before I was able to be myself with him.

"You're coming out of your shell pretty quickly," he noted, as though he had read my mind.

"You're pretty easy to be around," I told him, looking at the table. Our burgers and drinks came out then. I picked up and fry and nibbled on it.

"Easy to be around huh?" I nodded. "It's cause I'm awesome." I gave a small laugh and shook my head. _So cocky. _America picked up his burger and bit into it. "I'm so glad we came HERE. I haven't been here in ages! I almost forgot how good their burgers were! Arabella, you have to try yours!"

I picked up my burger and raised an eyebrow. I looked up at America, who was looking at me expectantly and took a bite of the burger. I felt my other eyebrow rise in shock.

"Well," he asked. I finished chewing and smiled.

"It's delicious," I told him. He grinned at me and finished eating his burger. I watched him eat it in three bites. "Holy shit," I said quietly. "You weren't kidding when you said you could eat a lot…"

"Not at all! I love burgers; especially ones from here!" I laughed. He ate his fries much slower than the burger, to allow me time to finish. When I did I sat back, contented. "Ready to go," he asked me. I nodded. He paid the bill and stood. "Come on, I wanna show you something," he said. I stood and followed him out.

He turned and headed further down the pier where I saw a huge carnival. I stopped walking and stared at the park. America laughed at my reaction and came back to grab my arm.

"We're never gonna get there if you stand there gawking like that," he said with a laugh. I started walking again. As we reached the gates I noticed a tall man with long brown hair standing there, taking tickets. America walked up to him, pulling me behind him, and said hi to the man. "Yo, Spain, What's up my man," America said to him.

The man turned to us and grinned. "Hola mi Amigo," he said to America. "How nice to see you, no? What brings you to the fair?" I saw the man glance over at me and smile. I smiled back. "Ah, is it this pretty young lady? Hola, my name is Antonio, miss."

"Oh, this is the rep for Aruba. Arabella, this is Tony. Tony, this is Arabella," America introduced.

"Oh, so you are the girl that Britain introduced earlier? Si, I remember now! I didn't get the chance to speak with you after the meeting. Well, it is lovely to meet you señorita. Are you two here on a date," the Spaniard asked America.

"Nope, we're just here as friends," he asked. Antonio raised an eyebrow at this and looked back at me.

"Well, then enjoy your time in the park mis amigos," he said before pressing a button to open the gate.

"Great, thanks man! See you later Tony! Come on Arabella," America said, walking ahead of me. I was about to walk when I saw Tony's arm in front of me.

"I know you are here with mi Amigo Alfred, but I wanted to know if you'd like to go on a date with me sometime," he asked me. I concealed the shock from my face.

"That would be fun," I told him with a flirtatious smile. "Bye Antonio," I said waving to him. I caught up with America and he began talking about all the "Totally awesome" rides we were gonna go on.

_First France and now Spain. Antonio is very attractive. He really wants to go on a date with me? Today has been one hell of a day. _

"Let's go on the Pirate Ship first," America said, cutting through my reverie. I looked up at him and smiled.

"Let's do it," I said happily. I saw the Pirate Ship and grinned. Grabbing America's hand, I took off running for the ride.

"Hey, wait up Little Birdie," he said. I looked over my shoulder and grinned at the man. He shot me a grin back, finally gaining his balance and came to run beside me. In the back of my mind, I realized we were still holding hands. We reached the ride, first in line for the next turn.

"Geez, you're excitable Little Birdie," he said with a laugh.

"Where did this Little Birdie nickname come from," I asked him. He pointed to me.

"Tweety-Bird is on your shirt," he told me. I looked down, remembering that I had thrown on my only clean shirt that morning before leaving the hotel. I felt my face go red. _I must look like a total tourist. _

"Oh… you'd think I'd remember something like that," I said laughing. Suddenly, the man running the ride came up to us.

"Time for the next group," he said in a deep voice. "Let's go you love birds." He smirked at us and I put my hands up, pulling mine from America.

"No, we aren't together," I said quickly shaking my head.

"Uh huh, sure you aren't," the man said with a laugh. I felt America grab my arm and pull me up to the steps to get on the ride.

"Come on Arabella, let's just get on," he said. I noticed his voice seemed to have darkened some. I wondered what had happened and was just about to ask him when the ride started. I laughed as we got higher and higher up with each swing. I felt America loosen up some next to me and he too began to laugh.

We finally reached maximum height and I felt my body start to slide out of the seat. I grabbed the bar that was supposed to keep people from going too far out of their seats and saw that it was loose. Without thinking, I grabbed America's arm and pulled myself closer to him, knowing that I needed something to keep me in the seat. As the ride began to slow down and lose height I loosened my grip and slid away some, but didn't let go yet. Some of the men running the rides liked to give people a second turn sometimes and I wanted to be prepared in case something like that happened.

The ride stopped and America looked over at me.

"Are you okay," he asked me. I nodded and scooted away as I realized how close I had been. "Did you get scared or something? All you had to do was tell me that you're afraid of heights. It's okay, really." I shook my head as he misunderstood.

"I wasn't scared Alfred." I tried not to stutter, unsuccessfully I might add. He gave me a look that clearly said he didn't believe me. "I wasn't," I defended. "I started to come out of the seat when we got really high and the bar in front of us was too loose to hold me down. I normally grab the bar to hold myself down. It wasn't the height I was afraid of. I actually love heights. I… was afraid of coming out of the seat. I grabbed your arm to keep from falling."

"Oh, you're right! With your size, I should have known. I mean, not that you're tiny or anything, but I should have put it together when you grabbed my arm like that. Sorry about that. I guess we should have sat on the other side." I shrugged.

"It happens," I said as I hopped down the last step of the ride. The same man who let us in was the one who let us off the ride. He smirked at me.

"Still say you two aren't together," he asked me. I nodded.

"We aren't together, sir," American said to him. "We're just here as friends, although I'd appreciate it if you stopped bothering her." The man nodded to America and let us off the ride.

"Even if they aren't now, those two will be together at some point," I heard the man saw as we walked away.

"Where do you want to go next," America asked, turning to me. I spotted a ride and pointed to it.

"That one," I told him. He looked at me in shock.

"You want to go on that roller coaster?" I nodded. "Alright, let's go. But no grabbing onto me this time! I know I'm awesome and all, but you gotta be able to ride these things alone too, ya know?" I laughed and playfully hit his arm.

"No promises Flabby McFlabbers," I said over my shoulder as I walked to the ride.

"It's not flab," he called back to me. "It's all muscle!"

"Sure it is! Whatever you say Flabby! Now hurry up!" I heard him groan and started laughing. He caught up and matched my pace, walking next to me.

"It really is muscle you know," he said angrily.

"Yeah yeah," I said. We got to the ride and got on. I sat front row, with America just behind me. I looked over my shoulder at him before the ride began. "Now, I CAN'T grab onto you. Happy?" He nodded smugly, but when I turned around I heard him grumble.

"I didn't mean you had to sit in another row," he mumbled, hoping I wouldn't hear. I chuckled lightly. The ride began. I sat there grinning like a child as we went through the loops and spins. Going up and down the hills, I felt as though I was 10 again. The ride finished and we stepped off. I skipped out of the exiting zone and waited for America.

He came out and walked over to me. We rode a few more rides and decided to leave. I turned around and walked backwards so I could face America.

"You scream like a little girl," I told him.

"So do you," he said defensively.

"See, I AM a girl, so it's okay for me to scream like one," I retorted. He scowled at me. I turned back around and walked next to him.

"Can you… not tell the others I scream like that," he asked after a few minutes. "It would ruin my awesome image." I laughed.

"Sure Flabby, I won't tell." I could feel him glaring at me and laughed. I looked at my phone and saw that it was almost midnight. I sighed. "I need to get back to the hotel," I told America.

"Alright, I'll walk you back," he said. I told him what hotel I was staying in and he led me back to a more familiar rode.

We rounded a corner and I stopped short. America bumped into me and nearly fell back.

"Arabella, why did you," he started. Down the street, leaned against the wall, were Germany and Brazil kissing. "Holy shit," I heard him breathe. "It's about damn time." I could hear the smirk in his voice.

* * *

><p>Well, that was it for this chapter! Let me know what you guys think! (AKA, review.)<p>

Thanks everyone xD


	3. It's Lunch Time!

**Chapter 3! YAY! Now, I haven't gotten any reviews yet, which is super saddening. So, if you guys would click the little review button at the bottom, that'd be great! Actually, I'm pretty much demanding that you do because feedback is fantastic and necessary if you guys want the story to continue. The only possible solution to this is for you guys to actually REVIEW. K, thanks :)  
><strong>

Sadly, I'm not one of those people who's clever enough to incorporate one of the characters into the beginning just to get a laugh from you guys, or hell, for myself.

This one is definitely shorter than chapter 2 and I can't guarantee that chapter 4 is gonna be much better, but I'll try and keep it in the high 2000s for word counts.

Okay, well I'm sure you've had enough of me distracting you by now! (Disclaimer: I don't own anything aside from the OCs of Cat and Arabella)

Enjoy!

* * *

><p>We rounded a corner and I stopped short. America bumped into me and nearly fell back.<p>

"Arabella, why did you," he started. Down the street, leaned against the wall, were Germany and Brazil kissing. "Holy shit," I heard him breathe. "It's about damn time." I could hear the smirk in his voice. I decided to break up the make-out session.

I quietly walked over to Cat and Ludwig. "Brazil," I called. Germany immediately pulled back and turned to look at me. Cat's eyes went wide with shock and her face flushed. "So, uh, what's going on here?" Ludwig went red too. I bit my lip to keep from laughing.

"I could ask you the same thing," Cat shot back to me as America walked up behind me. I felt my face heat.

"Nothing," I retorted. "I think this is a BIT more scandalous that my going to an amusement park with America- sorry, mean Alfred." Ludwig scratched the back of his head and Cat bit her bottom lip.

"Wait, you went to the amusement park with Al," Cat said. "On a date?"

"No, it wasn't a date," America said. I gave Cat an exasperated look.

"Alfred, I'm gonna walk back with Catarina, okay," I said to him. I looked at him then to Ludwig. He gave a nod, saying he understood. He walked over to Germany and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Let's go Ludwig," he said happily. "Let's go get some beer." Ludwig nodded and walked away from Cat and I. I signaled for Cat to follow me and we walked in silence to my hotel. We reached my room and I whirled on her.

"Details now," I said with a smile. Her skin darkened again.

"Well," she started. I nodded, growing impatient. "I ran into him on my way home from picking up some food." She held up a bag as proof. "We ended up fighting again, of course, but this argument was more… heated than usual. I was about to walk away from him to storm off dramatically when he grabbed my arm. He pulled me towards him and kissed me and it sort of went from there till you two showed up…" she trailed off.

"I'm disappointed in you," I told her. She looked at me. "You should have given more details than that! Honestly, I expected a much better story than that!" she laughed in relief. I plopped down on my bed and she sat next to me. She turned to face me.

"So," she said. I looked at her warily. "What's going on between you and Al?" I blushed as I thought about the many things that had happened between us that day.

"Nothing," I told her nonchalantly, hoping to pass up the conversation.

"I don't believe that," she told me. "Come on Arabella, tell me!"

"Alfred and I are just friends," I told her. It was my first time acknowledging him as Alfred outside of speaking to him. It felt… right.

"I still want to know what happened."

"Ugh, Fine!" Cat squealed happily. I laughed at her. "Well, when I was leaving, France decided to be all creeper on me and ask me out. Alfred came up and put his arm around me, saying that we were going to eat. France left and he dropped his arm. I said thanks and went to leave but he stopped me. Alfred told me he wanted to talk to me and grabbed my arm to lead me out. I stopped him, told you I would explain it later, which I'm doing, and left.

"We got outside and he asked me why I jumped into his lap when France and Britain were fighting when I was clearly more comfortable with you-"

"WAIT, you jumped in his lap?"

"Yes, just before the two idiots barreled through my chair. Can I continue now?" she nodded. "Thank you. Anyway, he asked me why I jumped in his lap and I told him it had been instinct to move out of the way. I just happened to jump into HIS lap instead of the floor or your lap. Hell I didn't even realize till I looked over at him! Continuing, he said it was cool and took me to dinner at this awesome burger joint down by the pier. Of course, this is after I teased him and he chased me.

"Anyway, we went in the burger place, where Austria was playing piano by the way! And we ate. Then he took me to the amusement park. Spain was at the gates, so I got to meet him. He let Alfred and I in and then asked me on a date. Still not really sure when that's gonna happen but me and Alfred went to the Pirate ship first. This guy running the ride kept calling me and Alfred a couple, and it got really annoying.

"I ended up having to hold onto Alfred during the ride cause the bar in front of us was loose and I started to fly out of the seat. He teased me about that and then the man running the ride teased us again about being a couple when we got OFF the ride too! I nearly slapped him! We went on a roller coaster next and I sat front row while Alfred sat in the row behind me." As I was talking I noticed Cat open her mouth to say something, however, I was talking too quickly for her to get anything in.

I gave a smug smile at that. "We rode a few more rides after that and left. He offered to walk me home and we ran into you and Ludwig," I concluded.

"Can I talk now," Cat asked impatiently. I nodded. "SPAIN ASKED YOU ON A DATE?"

"Wow. Out of all that, you got that Antonio asked me on a date."

"Is that a yes or a no?" I laughed at her.

"It's a yes. And I said yes."

"Good! I'd have killed you if you had said no! Okay, you grabbed Alfred's arm on the Pirate Ship right?" I nodded. "What was his reaction?" I thought about it for a moment.

"Well, at first he was worried about me. He thought I was afraid of heights." I scoffed. "As if. I told him why I held onto his arm and he understood. That's about all that happened." I cut out the part about holding hands with him and didn't mention him catching me before the pier. I looked at Cat, who was grinning at me. "What," I asked her.

"You two should go out," she said.

"I could say the same about you and Germany! Honestly! How much sexual tension does there have to be for a fight to turn into a make-out THAT intense? Go out with him already!"

"There is NO sexual tension between me and Ludwig! Are you kidding me," she scoffed. I stared at her, dumbfounded. "He's a nuisance. I have no idea how that happened, okay? It just did."

"How are you so oblivious," I shouted to her.

"I'm not oblivious!"

"You ended up making out with a man you thought you hated. How is there no tension in that? Think about it Cat!" she glared at me for a moment.

"I've got a plane back to Brazil in an hour… I'll call you later Aruba." I groaned.

"Fine. Go be oblivious at home!"

"I'm not oblivious," she shouted as she walked to the door. She popped her head back around the corner before she left. "I expect to see you walking hand in hand with Al next time I see you, understand?"

"Oh shut up, Cat," I told her. She laughed and left.

"Call you later, Arabella," she called. I shook my head and threw myself back onto the bed in exasperation.

I looked at my hand, remembering how it felt to hold hands with Alfred. I realized how long I had been holding hands with him and blushed.

"How could I have held your hand that whole time and not noticed," I asked myself softly. I changed out of my jeans and into my pajamas and laid on my bed staring at the ceiling until I slipped into a peaceful sleep.

I woke up the next morning to my phone ringing. I groggily looked at the clock and saw that it was 10 o'clock. I groaned and picked up my phone.

"Hello," I said, stifling a yawn.

"Did I wake you," a voice asked me. I sat up.

"Who is this?" the voice chuckled on the other end of the line.

"Antonio," he answered. I gasped.

"Oh! Good morning Antonio." I smiled.

"Buenos Dias. I was calling about our date. I wanted to know when you could make it?" I was about to answer when I realized something. I had never given Antonio my number…

"I'm not really sure, Antonio. You see, I'm going home in a few hours I'll be swamped for a while."

"Oh, that's too bad. Some other time then?"

"Um… Sure… Hey, Antonio, I've got a question for you."

"Go ahead," he said from the other line.

"How did you get my number? I don't recall giving it to you…"

"Oh, well that's easy. I just spoke to mi Hermanita about it. I noticed that you two are friends, no? I asked her for your number since I did not get to see you when I got off work."

_That makes sense I suppose. I didn't know Cat and Antonio were related._

"Oh, okay. So… Am I to assume that Cat is your younger sister?"

A chuckle from the other end. "Si, Arabella. Brazil is my sister."

"Okay, well, I have to finish packing now."

"Si, si, I will call you later then." I sighed. _This guy is hard to get rid of. _

"Alright," I said as though I was already distracted by something.

"Adios, Arabella."

"Goodbye Antonio," I said before quickly hanging up. I fell back onto the bed. "I feel like he didn't get my number from Cat… but at the same time, he could have. I don't know! Maybe I should cancel the date. I mean, why did I make up that flight? Ugh, now I have to call the airport and see if there even are any flights to Aruba." I let out a frustrated shout and mussed up my hair. I heard a knocking at my door.

"Arabella," a voice called out in concern. "It's Alfred… are you alright?" I immediately flew off the bed and gasped.

_What's he doing here? _I looked down at myself. "Oh God, I'm still in my pajamas," I said to myself. "What do I do? Um... yeah, I'm alright. Give me a sec, Alfred." I frantically pulled my hair into a pony tail and slid a huge sweatshirt on over my leopard print pajama pants and white tank top. I quickly checked myself in the mirror and went to the door.

I felt a sense of Déjà vu when I paused to take a deep breath to calm myself before opening the door. I smiled up at Alfred, who was of course; already dressed for the day in blue jeans, a fitted white V-neck, combat boots and his bomber jacket. I internally groaned at my lack of being able to look decent in front of an attractive man.

"Hey," I said. "What are you doing here?" he grinned down at me. _Stupid 5'9 American…_

"Did I wake you up," he asked nervously. I shook my head.

"Um… come in. You don't have to stand in the hall, you know." I led him to the kitchen area of my room, thankful I had asked for an upgrade when I got here.

"So, what was with the scream," he asked me as he sat down at the bar. I walked into the kitchen area to pour myself a glass of Sunny D.

"Do you want anything," I asked him. He shook his head no. "I just had a frustrating conversation is all; nothing is wrong. I felt like I needed to release said frustration and shouted." I took a seat on a stool next to him, sitting crisscross with my glass sitting on the stool as well.

"Well, who called," he asked. I felt reluctant to tell him.

"Um… Spain did." I watched for his reaction. All I saw was shock.

"Tony? What did he want," he asked me.

"He was asking me on a date," I said slowly. "But I had to refuse. I'm heading home in a few hours actually." Alfred looked disappointed.

"You are?" I nodded. "Oh well, I was gonna ask you out to lunch. Everyone else has already gone home…" _Wait… is he… asking me on a date? _I forced my outer reactions to be less severe.

"Yeah… Well, I suppose I could make lunch. I still have to call the airport and check the time of the flight anyway." _Why am I trying to make it up to him? _I saw Alfred perk up some and sighed internally.

"Really," he asked. "Awesome!" I smiled. Alfred looked at me for a few minutes. "You should get dressed you know." I glared at him. "Just sayin," he said with a laugh. I stood and went to my suitcase.

"It's not anywhere expensive, is it," I asked him, digging through my bag.

"Nah, I'm not really a fan of big expensive places. Even when I have a girlfriend I don't take her to fancy places unless it's a special day," he said. I felt elation spread through me upon finding out that he's single.

I froze when I remembered that I had worn my last clean pair of jeans and shirt the day before. I groaned and plopped onto the bed. I ran my hands through my hair and tried to think of something to do.

"So… I may have to put off lunch for a while," I called out to Alfred.

"Why," he asked, shock coating every word as well as…. Was that… hurt?

I chuckled nervously as he walked over to me. "Well… I don't have anything to wear," I said. He looked at me, then at my suitcase, then back at me. I sighed. "Those are all dirty," I explained. He just looked at me. "What do you expect me to do? Wear dirty clothes? I mean, you can smell the clothes to determine that they're dirty if you want Alfred."

"So… then why don't we have lunch here while your clothes are in the wash," he suggested. "I can give you a ride to the airport after we eat and all your things are clean." I looked at him in shock.

"Are you serious? You don't have to do that Alfred. Really."

"Yeah sure; it would be totally unheroic of me not to and since I'm the hero, it's what I'm gonna do." _Strange logic, but okay. _

"So, then what do you want to eat," I asked after a few minutes of silence.

Alfred thought for a moment before grinning. "How about something from Aruba? There's gotta be something that's from there that we don't have here," he replied happily. I raised one eyebrow and stood to check in the kitchen. I walked into the kitchen and started digging through the fridge. After a few minutes I turned around to where Alfred was sitting at the table.

"I guess I could make some chicken and rice," I told him. "I'd make something traditional like Pastechi, but I don't have all the ingredients..." I trailed off at the end, not sure where to go with it.

"That's perfect," he said. "I'll just have to come to your place one day so I can try some of that Pastache." He grinned at me and I bit back a laugh.

"It's Pastechi, Alfred," I told him. "The chicken needs to defrost, by the way." I turned my back to him and pulled out the food. Once I had everything set up for when the chicken was ready, I went back to my bag and grabbed my clothes. I headed to the laundry room and started separating the clothes according to groups. I put whites in one pile, dark's in another, and colors in the third. I heard a shift behind me and glanced over my shoulder to see Alfred leaning against the door frame watching me.

When he saw me looking at him he smirked. I turned back to the clothes and threw one pile into the wash. I sighed once it was started and put my hands on my hips.

"At least one load is started," I said mostly to myself. "At this rate, I'll never get home today..." I tightened my pony tail and left the laundry room, swerving around Alfred. I headed back to the kitchen and began cooking the food.

Once it was ready we sat down. Alfred immediately started eating his food in bites so large that I was surprised he could even swallow. I ate slowly and caught myself watching Alfred.

_Stop staring at him! What are you, some kind of stalker? Get a grip Arabella._ I sighed quietly and finished my food with the occasional glance in the obnoxious man's direction.

"This stuff was totally awesome Arabella," Alfred said after his FOURTH plate. "It's most definitely good for a hero, like me!" I laughed quietly and picked up the plates to go do the dishes. Alfred stopped me before I could step foot in the kitchen. "Let me do the dishes," he said looking me straight in the eyes. I took a steadying breath to keep myself focused and shook my head no. "Come on, Bella," he said, taking on a new nickname. He took a step closer to me and I took one back on instinct. He took another and I found myself against the wall with Alfred less than a foot away from my face.

"I'm your guest, after all," he said softy. I shook my head again.

"Not really," I managed to say. I felt short of breath as he came even closer. I vaguely noticed his hand moving towards mine. "I'm the one in your country, not the other way around."

"I'm the one in your hotel room," he countered. His bright blue eyes seemed to see right through me. "Just let me help out, K?" One of his hands came up to caress my face. I felt the plates slip out of my hand but didn't actually notice the action. "Please?" I could feel his breath on my face. I took one shaky breath and nodded. He grinned triumphantly and walked away, plates in hand.

I slid down the wall and to the floor. _What just happened?_

* * *

><p><strong>Well, that's all for this chapter! It ended up being longer than I anticipated in the beginning so ignore the little note I added at the top about this one being shorter than chapter 2 cause I'm pretty sure that would be wrong. <strong>

**So, what did you guys think? You know you wanna press the review button! Doo iiiit! **

**Next chapter will be up soon! xD  
><strong>


	4. Clothes, Cat, and Anger

**Chapter 4! So, this one is epically shorter than the others and I'm super sorry about that! I'm having a serious case of writer's block right now, which is bad considering I said I'd post one a day! So, I think I'm going to move it to just one a week so I don't over work my brain and wear out the story. If I work on it too long, I may loose interest and that would SUCK. **

**Sorry for how awkwardly this one begins hahaha, I tried :)**

* * *

><p>I slid down the wall and to the floor. <em>What just happened? <em>I heard the water in the kitchen start running and stood up shakily. _What's with you today? He's just a guy. Now, go finish your laundry! _

During my mental scolding, I failed to notice Alfred. I looked at my hands for a moment, remembering how his had brushed against mine when he took the plates and blushed slightly. I took a step away from the wall and ran straight into Alfred. I squeaked slightly and jumped back, looking up at him in alarm.

"Are you okay," he asked me. I nodded and smiled slightly.

"I tend to get lost in thought," I explained. "Sorry about that." I gave a small laugh and walked around him. I felt my face burn and pulled my hair out of the pony tail so it would get in my face to hide the blush. I quickly started a new load of laundry.

I walked back out to the bar where Alfred was sitting and sat down. I tucked a loose strand of hair behind my ear and looked at the blond man in front of me. We sat in silence for a few minutes and I shifted uncomfortably in my seat. _Well, this isn't awkward or anything! _Alfred shifted in his seat slightly.

"Have you called the airport about the flight yet," Alfred asked, breaking the silence. I jumped slightly at the noise and shook my head no.

"Not yet," I said. "I've been a little busy since you got here." I laughed at the end so the statement didn't seem insulting. "I should probably do that though..." I nodded in resolve and stood to get my phone. I grabbed it and dialed the number for the airport, supplied by Alfred. I spoke to the airline for about 30 minutes before actually getting a flight. I hung up and looked around for Alfred.

I found him in the same spot I left him at the bar staring off into space. He didn't notice me come in so I cleared my throat to get his attention. When that didn't work I stood in front of him.

"Alfred," I called. "Alfred. Hellooooo? _Ben je daar?* _Alfred! _Domme Amerikaan!_** Americaaaa!" I waved my hand in front of his face. He jumped when my hand nearly hit his nose and looked at me in shock. "Finally! I've been calling your name for like 10 minutes now! Where did you go; La La Land? Honestly!" He grinned sheepishly.

"What can I say," he said with a shrug. "Heroes get lost in their thoughts too, you know!" I rolled my eyes and laughed. "So what did the airport say?" I took my seat next to him again and turned to face him.

"There's a flight to Aruba at about 8 tonight, which means I've got," i looked at the clock on the stove. "5 hours." Alfred nodded. "So, I say we find something to do once I'm done with the laundry, unless you've got somewhere to be..." I trailed off at the end, suddenly remembering that Alfred was, in fact, a huge super power in the world, and probably had a ton of work to do. I was surprised when he shook his head.

"Nah, I ain't got anywhere I need to be," he said with a grin. "Besides, how could a hero leave a pretty girl alone in a place she's never been before?" I blushed at the compliment, causing Alfred's grin to get even bigger.

"Hey, _***Amerika! _Stop grinning like that, it's creepy," i said with a laugh. His smile faltered for a moment before he recovered.

"You should be nicer to your host country, Aruba," he said, an evil gleam in his eye. My eyes widened slightly before I hid the reaction.

"And why is that, America," I asked, deciding that two could play that game. He stood from his chair.

"Because I like totally let you stay here like a real hero! I was awesome enough to have a hotel with a room like this, too." I raised my eyebrow at him. _What a horrid comeback._ He took a step toward me.

"I don't know, I think I should go home sooner actually. I don't like it much here," I teased. His eyes narrowed and I secretly hoped he realized I was kidding.

"Oh really," he asked. I nodded. He took another step towards me and slid an arm around the small of my back, pulling me closer to him. "I think I could change that," he said softly. I gave a quiet gasp and he smirked at me.

"What exactly are you planning on doing," I whispered, afraid that if I spoke any louder I might break the moment. His smirk grew and leaned his head towards mine. I closed my eyes, waiting for his lips to brush mine. I felt his breath on my lips as my own quickened.

"HEY ARUBA," a voice called. Alfred and I quickly jumped back from each other and I looked over to see Brazil staring at the two of us. I felt my face heat up. "Oh _merda* _did I just interrupt something?" I blushed even more and shook my head.

"W-what are you doing here, Cat," I stuttered. "I thought you went home last night?" She glared at me for avoiding the question before answering.

"I came back," she replied slowly. "Although, I'm beginning to think I shouldn't have, especially considering what you two were about to do when I came in..."

"How did you get in here anyway," Alfred asked accusingly. He was glaring daggers at Cat.

"I could ask you the same thing," she shot back.

"Arabella let me in," he replied smugly. Cat looked at me shocked for a moment before smiling smugly. "Now you; how did you get in?"

"Easy," she told him happily. "The guy at the front desk was from Brazil, so all I had to do was talk to him for a few minutes before he happily handed me a spare key to the room." Alfred's mouth snapped shut and he ground his teeth together. I could have sworn I heard him mutter something about firing the man at the desk before he crossed his arms and huffed back onto the couch. I laughed slightly and turned back to Cat.

"Not that you aren't awesome or anything, but why did you come back Cat," I asked her.

"Well," she began. "I got home and chilled for a little while since I had already finished all my paperwork for the week before I came. I got bored and tried listening to music and stuff but it was all soo boring that I figured I'd come back and chill with you! But I see I should have stayed home... Alfred, if you keep grinding your teeth like that they're gonna fall out. I believe little old Alfie is mad at me for interrupting your moment." She chuckled somewhat evilly.

"I take that back," she said. "I'm really damn happy I came back! I don't get to see Alfred this pissed very often and it's really funny!" I glanced at the man in question and practically saw Anime anger waves rolling off him. He glared at her, causing her to shrink back slightly. "_***Merda que é quase pior que a morte da Alemanha brilhos ..._" She watched Alfred for a moment. "I think I'm gonna leave now... By Arabella!" Cat turned around and ran out of the room. I called out a goodbye.

I turned around and looked carefully at Alfred. I walked up to him and stood in front of him.

"Alfred," I said quietly. He looked at me out of the corner of his eye. "Are you okay?" He turned away from me. I sighed and sat next to him on the couch. "Alfred, look at me." He didn't move. I put my hand on his shoulder and gently turned him around. "Hey, snap out of it," i said softly. He looked at me with cold eyes. "Come on! Alfred, smile, please?" He didn't move. "It was just a kiss, Alfred! Besides, it's not like you meant it! So, it's no big deal. Right?" He glared at me. _Wait... he actually wanted to kiss me? No way..._

He pushed me away and stood stiffly. "Just go home Arabella," he said before walking out, leaving me completely dumbfounded.

"Alfred wait," I called, standing to follow him. He stopped before the door and looked at me.

"I'm going back to my house now, I suggest you do the same," he said coldly.

"Alfred, why are you mad? We just met for crying out loud! Why would you want to kiss me for real? Think about it!" He whirled back around.

"Did you ever stop to think that maybe I'm attracted to you," he demanded. I froze. He practically growled, clearly not getting the reaction he wanted. He stormed back to where I was standing and put both hands on either side of my face before kissing me.

* * *

><p><strong>Well, that's all for chapter 4! Sorry it's so pathetically short this time you guys! It's definitely gonna have to be weekly posts instead of daily. I don't think I can sit down and write so much everyday. Here are the translations! <strong>

_Ben je daar_-Are you there?

_Domme Amerikaan_- Stupid American!

_Amerika_- America

_Merda_- shit

_Merda que é quase pior que a morte da Alemanha brilhos_- Shit that's almost worse than Germany's death glares...

The first 3 are in Dutch and the last two are in Portuguese!

**Review please! Thanks for reading everyone! xD**


	5. Emergency Meeting!

**Oh wow, it's been a while since I posted! Sorry about that. It's the end of the year and all so finals are driving me INSANE. I've got math and physics tomorrow then I'm done for the year! xD **

**Anyway, since summer is starting and I may not always have access to a computer I'm changing how often I post a chapter to just once or twice a week. I honestly hate to have to do that, but 1.) I doubt I could be creative enough to post everyday and 2.) I won't always get on the computer everyday to even be able to write. I'll try and post as often as possible. I can't guarantee a constant amount of time between each post so be prepared for the random chapters.**

**DISCLAIMER: I own nothing in this aside from OC Brazil and OC Aruba :)  
><strong>

* * *

><p>Recap<p>

_"Did you ever stop to think that maybe I'm attracted to you," he demanded. I froze. He practically growled, clearly not getting the reaction he wanted. He stormed back to where I was standing and put both hands on either side of my face before kissing me._

* * *

><p>I froze in his hands, completely shocked. <em>What the hell? He's kissing me? Why? <span>Kiss him back you retard! <span>__Ophouden met zo__dom__!* _(Author's note: When the words in Italics are underlined its like a different side of her brain. Sort of like when one argues with oneself) During my internal war, I subconsciously put my hands around Alfred's neck and pulled him closer. My eyes slid shut.

All too soon, Alfred pulled back from the kiss and looked at me, both of us breathing heavily. He rested his forehead against mine and we stood there for a few minutes.

"Now do you believe me," he asked. I smiled slightly and nodded. I sighed happily and moved my head to rest on his chest. He chuckled lightly and wrapped his arms around me. I took a deep breath, relishing in the smell of his bomber jacket. Of him. He smelled like the woods and Honeysuckles.

_I've known him for a day. How is it I'm so attached to him already? Why is he? I don't understand! Don't question it, stupid! Oh shut up! You're my subconscious, not me! Yes, I AM your subconscious. Therefore, you should listen to me! Oh come off it already! _With that, my subconscious stopped bothering me. I pulled back and looked at Alfred.

"You know, you give REALLY good hugs," I told him. He grinned at me, his blue eyes shining.

"Of course! I wouldn't be a very good hero if I couldn't give the damsel a decent hug," he replied cockily. I raised my eyebrow and laughed slightly.

"Who said I'm a damsel? I'm pretty sure I can take care of myself." He feigned hurt and put a hand over his heart.

"Oh how you wound me," he said dramatically. "I'm the hero, so naturally I fall for the damsel! This means that you are a damsel, albeit not in distress." He looked down at me and flashed his signature Hollywood smile.

"And if I don't want to be a damsel, in distress or otherwise," I questioned.

"Well, that's basically saying that ya wanna be a dude, which... well that's kinda weird Bell." I laughed at the worried look on his face.

"Don't worry, I like being a girl. I have no intention of becoming a man." His worried face turned to that of relief. "Hey, where did this whole 'Bell' thing come from?"

"Oh, well, I figured you needed a nickname. Bella reminds me too much of Twilight and I don't wanna be a sparkly fairy, so I decided to call you Bell. It makes more sense when you add in that both of our names start with A, country and normal name wise. It would just be too weird for us to be Alfred and Arabella to me." Suddenly he looked worried again. "Is it okay if I call you Bell? Man, I should've asked before I called you that!"

"Al," I said trying to calm him down. He continued his frantic rant. "Alfred. Al! Hey, pay attention _dom**" _He looked down at me. "It's okay if you call me Bell Alfred," I told him with a laugh. "Can you stop freaking out now?" He looked slightly offended.

"Heroes do NOT 'freak out,'" he said haughtily. I shook my head and patted his shoulder.

"Sure they don't," I said sarcastically. I smiled and moved to sit on the couch, Alfred not far behind me. He grabbed the remote from the coffee table in front of the couch and turned on the T.V. He began channel surfing. Once he found something to watch, football of course, we lapsed into a comfortable silence. I caught myself glancing over at Alfred every couple of seconds.

I chewed my lip subconsciously. I stood, remembering my clothes in the dryer and went to get them.

"I really don't want to fold all these," I said to myself. I shrugged and threw the freshly cleaned clothes into the suitcase. When I walked back into the living room I saw Arthur standing there looking frantic and a confused Alfred. I stopped short in the doorway. "England?"The man in question looked up when I called his name and quickly came over to me.

"Aruba you have to listen to me," he said. "I'm calling an emergency meeting and this git," his jacked his thumb over his shoulder to point to Alfred, "won't come!" I looked at Alfred.

"Well... If it's an emergency we should go," I said slowly. England looked relieved and smiled at me.

"Thank you very much Aruba," he replied. I nodded and was about to go to the door to leave when I remembered I was still in my pajamas. My face flushed and I quickly ran into my room to get changed. I threw on a blue t-shirt and some jeans, pulled my hair up in a pony tail and grabbed my converse.

"Alright, let's go," I said once I stepped out of my room. The guys nodded and we were off. We jumped into England's car and started heading to wherever the emergency meeting was to be held.

"So Artie," Alfred began. "Why did you call the emergency meeting?"

"It's Arthur you git," he spat at the American. "You'll find out when we get there. You should really answer your phone, Alfred!" He took his eyes off the road to cast a glare in Alfred's direction.

"Sorry bro," Alfred said cheerily, completely oblivious to the venom in the Briton's voice. "I turned it on silent right after I got to Bell's house." Alfred shrugged nonchalantly and grinned from his place in the passenger seat.

"Who's Bell," England asked sounding thoroughly confused.

"Oh, sorry. Bell is the nickname I gave Aruba," Alfred explained.

"What is with you and nicknames? There is nothing wrong with calling a person by the name they were properly given, America."

"I know that _England_. I've already talked to her about it and she said it's fine bro, so chill." I had a hard time trying not to laugh at the two. _It's no wonder people call these two brothers! They certainly act like they're related. _England grumbled to himself.

"What were you doing in Aruba's hotel room anyway," He asked suddenly. I was getting annoyed at how the two talked about me like I wasn't sitting in the backseat.

"Exactly what it looked like when you came in," Alfred said. "We were watching T.V. and just chillin'."

"With her still in her pajamas," England questioned.

"I'm right here you know, you could always ask ME these things," I announced.

"All her clothes were dirty," Alfred continued as though I hadn't spoken.

"You still shouldn't be with a lady when she doesn't have any decent clothing to put on, Alfred! It's very ungentlemanly!"

"Hellooooo," I said. "Earth to Super Powers of the world."

"Oh calm down dude!"

"If you two would SHUT UP long enough, then maybe you could hear my side of the story, ARTHUR. Honestly! You go on and on about how gentlemen should act when you won't even shut your giant mouth long enough for the lady in question to speak!" When they remained silent I continued. "Thank you. Now, Alfred came over because he was bored and thought that everyone had already left, which clearly isn't true. Anyway, I let him in because I wasn't doing anything today aside from catching a flight home in a few hours. We had some lunch and watched t.v. after that. So, it's what Alfred said. We were just hanging out. Get your nickers out of bunch, will ya?"

"You sound so American," England said when I finished.

"Aruba is more American-ized than you realize Arthur," I spat back. "Our main language is English. I thought you of all people would know that." I sat back in my seat and glared out the window.

"Why would Artie know that," Alfred asked. "I thought you guys met for the first time just yesterday?" England remained silent. I didn't feel like answering either so we sat in silence until we reached the meeting hall. We walked in the building with a tense air about us.

When we stepped into the conference hall I saw Germany, Brazil, France, Japan, North Italy, and China sitting there waiting for us. Alfred stopped at the door, shocked to see how many people had actually come to the meeting. I stepped past him and took a seat next to Brazil who was sitting as far away from Germany as she could. I laughed inwardly at the two. England groaned and grabbed Alfred's sleeve, pulling him into the room.

"Just take a seat you git," he grumbled. Brazil noticed the tense air and leaned over to me.

"What happened between you guys," she asked quietly. I gave her a look that said I'd tell her later and she nodded.

"We're going to wait about 30 more minutes guy," England said suddenly. "I want to see if anyone else is going to actually come. You'd think people would respond to an emergency meeting but NO..." I began to tune Arthur out as his rant continued. I turned to Brazil.

"So, what happened," she asked, nudging my arm. I quickly told her all that had happened and she gave me a confused look. "You already knew Arthur?" I sighed in exasperation.

"Yes. I did. I was under his rule from 1805-1816 during the Napoleonic Wars. I was still pretty young so it's understandable that he didn't know it was me, but it kind of bothered me when he didn't say anything when he realized it was me before the World Conference began." I looked over at Arthur and then to the floor. "I also know Spain," I added quietly.

"You know Spain too? How do you know him?" I remembered all my people had gone through because of him and tried not to flinch. Brazil noticed and looked at me in concern. "You okay?"

I nodded slightly. "Yeah, I'd just rather not talk about it right now. It's been a while since I've had to think about him..." I decided to divert the conversation from me. "So what's going on between you a-" I was cut off when the doors suddenly burst open and Prussia strode in.

"It's alright, the awesome me is here now," he said with a smirk.

"Shut up and sit down Prussia," England snapped.

"Now _Angleterre* _just because you are in a _mauvaise humeur_* does not mean that you 'ave to take it out of ze rest of us," France cut in, lazily casting his arm over the Briton's shoulder. Arthur quickly shrugged his shoulder off and stepped away like he had been touched by the plague.

"Don't touch me you bloody frog," he spat.

"_Pare de lutar_*," Cat cut in. "France, shut up and go sit down. England, can we start this meeting now? You DID say it was an emergency didn't you?"

"Right," Arther said. "Thank you Catarina. She's right. Let's get this meeting started." The anxiety that Arther had shown so openly when he first came in my hotel room shown through even more so than before. Everyone noted the serious air, aside from Alfred who continued to grin like an idiot, and sat down at the table. Arthur looked around for a moment, worry shining brightly in his eyes.

"Now, Captain Hook has recently told me something rather worrisome," He began. Everyone in the room groaned in unison as I looked at the Briton completely lost. _Captain Hook? Isn't he from Peter Pan?_ "He has informed me that aliens are coming to take over! I think we should prepare ourselves for this invasion. You know, start making food reserves and such. We can never be too careful. Especially when it comes to aliens!"

"Whoa whoa whoa," Alfred cut in looking offended. "Tony would never do anything to hurt anyone!"

"I'm not talking about your silly friend America!"

"Look, we would know more about this if Aliens were going to invade, Artie! Almost every big country has something watching the skies for any sign of life."

"No, I think we should seriously be worried about this!" England opened his mouth to continue but was stopped when Brazil stood and punched him in the face.

"Stop listening to your imaginary friends Arther," she said before turning around and walking out of the room.

* * *

><p><strong>Well, there you go! Way to go Cat! <strong>

**Here are the translations**

_ophouden met zo dom: Stop being so stupid_

_dom: stupid_

_Angleterre: England_

_mauvaise humeur: Bad mood_

_Pare de lutar: Stop fighting _

**Me: You gotta love those imaginary friends right? No? No? So... it's just me? Damn**

**England: That's okay Lauren, I love them too! xD**

**Me: Of course you do Arthur! They're YOUR imaginary friends...**

**Alfred: Just ignore him! Hey, you guys should be totally heroic and hit the review button down there**

**Me: What he said... xD**

**France: Au Revoir!**

**Brazil: Vejo vocês mais tarde! (Eng trans: See you guys later) **


	6. Jealously and Emotions Everywhere!

**Hey everyone! How's it going? Alright so, I was going through previous chapters and found a couple mistakes I feel I need to correct. 1.) Due to the fact that Brazil was a Portuguese colony, Cat and Spain would actually be cousins, not brother and sister. Sorry about that! 2) In chapter five I spelled Arthur wrong like the whole chapter so... I feel like a dumbass because of that lol. I'm pretty sure that's it but if not, please don't hesitate to let me know. Input is always awesome and it helps to make the story more awesome (Somewhere in the world, Prussia just sneezed) **

**Prussia: Stop talking about all this boring stuff and get to the awesome me!**

**Me: Prussia... you aren't even a main character in this. **

**Prussia: *pauses* I'm still more awesome than you! Isn't that right _Bruder?_**

**Germany: Don't drag me into this. Just get to the story, Lauren. **

**Me: Oh! Right! So... enjoy!**

**France: Lauren owns nothing aside from the OCs of Brazil and Aruba!**

**Me:Hey that's my line!**

**France: *Laughs* honhonhonhon _profiter chapitre 6_  
><strong>

* * *

><p><em>Recap<em>

_"Look, we would know more about this if Aliens were going to invade, Artie! Almost every big country has something watching the skies for any sign of life."_

_"No, I think we should seriously be worried about this!" England opened his mouth to continue but was stopped when Brazil stood and punched him in the face._

_"Stop listening to your imaginary friends Arthur," she said before turning around and walking out of the room._

* * *

><p>"Yo, Cat, wait," A voice called. I looked to my right and saw Netherlands calling after Cat. I raised my eyebrows at my previous boss and watched him run after her. I looked around for a moment to see if anyone was paying attention. England was still standing although now he was holding his face where Cat had punched him and staring blankly at where she had been standing previously.<p>

"She- she punched me," he said, completely shell shocked. I chuckled slightly. Alfred stood and patted Arthur's shoulder in a comforting manner. France was on the floor laughing saying something in French about Arthur getting beat up by a girl. Germany stood and left the room. Italy was taking a nap. China was trying to talk to Japan, who was staring out the window. Prussia was, of course, saying something about being too awesome to get punched by a girl like Arthur. I stood and quickly left to follow Cat and Holland (Author's Note: Netherlands/Holland has no set name yet so I'm just gonna stick with calling him his country name or some variation of the country name such as Holl.)

I walked out the door and looked around to see Cat, Ludwig, and Holland standing at the end of the hall near a window. I quickly walked over.

"So, Cat, how you been," Netherlands asked tentatively. I froze. _Since when has Holl EVER hesitated to flirt with a girl? _

"Pretty good, _e você?_*" she responded happily. _Well that was a quick mood change_.

"I've been great. Missing you though," he added, slipping into flirting mode. Holl smirked and Germany stiffened next to me.

"That's your fault Netherlands. YOU were the one to break it off, not me," she replied coldly. Holl's smirk fell slightly before slipping back into place.

"I don't think so Cat. If I recall correctly, we mutually broke up," he said back.

"Then you recall incorrectly Netherlands. You broke it off cause you got bored of my awesomeness," she said haughtily.

"Well, I'm not anymore. So, what do ya say Cat? We should go out sometime." His smirk grew even more.

"That's not gonna happen Holland," she told him.

"Oh come on Kittie. You can't say you don't miss me." Cat's eyes narrowed.

"Don't call me that Netherlands," she warned. "You lost the right to call me Kittie a long time ago." Holl's eyes flashed as he reached out and grabbed Cat by the hips and pulled her closer to him.

"That's not what you used to say babe; especially when we played Cat and Dog." His eyebrows raised suggestively. Cat turned red and pushed away from him.

"I told you not to call me that Netherlands," she said again.

"Holl, stop," I said. "Stop it now." He didn't hear me.

"Leave Cat alone, Netherlands," Germany threatened. Holl looked over at him in surprise and then back to Cat.

"Babe, you and HIM?" Germany turned slightly pink and stepped in front of Cat protectively.

"Back off Netherlands," he warned again. Holl scoffed. I smirked happily. _So he DOES have feelings for her! I knew! I have to tell Alfred! _My smirk fell slightly when I remembered how the conversation dropped off in the car. _He probably thinks I'm upset with him..._

"You and THIS guy?" he asked incredulously. "Seriously? Kittie, you could do so much better. Why would you settle for THAT when you could have me? I mean, Germany? Really? He's probably not half as good!"

"Shut up Holl," I shouted. Holl looked at me in surprise.

"Leave Ludwig out of this," Cat shouted from behind Germany.

"Oh, hey there Ara! _Wanneer ben je daar?*_" I glared. (ENG: when did you get there?)

"I've been here the whole time! What are you doing here _broer*_? Arthur wants nothing to do with you. The only good relations you two have had was during the Napoleonic Wars." Holl looked at Cat then back at me.

"Wait," Cat cut in suddenly. "Arabella, how do you know him?" Holl seemed to be on the same train of thought.

"How do you know her," he demanded.

"Holl is my older brother, Cat. We're actually a lot closer than this fight makes it seem. He's just being an idiot. And to Holl: Cat is one of my friends."

"He's your _O irmão mais velho*?" (_ENG: older brother) Holl looked at me shocked once again. "She's your _vriend?_*"(if you can't figure this one out, I shun you lol. It's a one letter change people.)

"Yes, and so is Ludwig. Leave my friends alone _broer_. Why are you even here?" Holl looked between me and Cat for a moment before answering.

"_Ik kwam hier om terug te gaan Cat. Ik betreur het verlaten van haar. Zal je me helpen haar terug zus?_"(ENG: I came here to get Cat back. I regret leaving her. Will you help me get her back sister?) I shook my head.

"_Nee, ik zal niet. Cat is met Ludwig nu en wil niet bij je zijn. Laat haar gaan._(No I will not. She has Ludwig now and will not be with you. Let her go) I don't care if you two were bed buddies before. You aren't now."

"Come on, _zus*_ please?" I shook my head again.

"Go home Holl. _Ze wil niet meer met u zijn. U heeft zeker van dat wanneer je het uitgemaakt met haar. Ze is met Ludwig nu._" (She does not want to be with you. You made sure of that when you broke up with her. She's with Ludwig now.) He glared at me a moment before looking back to Cat.

_"__Ik ben niet opgeven van je_."(I'm not giving up on you) He said before storming out of the building. I ran a hand through my hair and sighed tiredly.

"I'm sorry about him, you guys. Holl can be a bit overbearing at times. Although, I suppose you know that, don't you Cat?" She flushed. Ludwig seemed to realized he was within a foot of her and took a step away from her.

"Is he really your _bruder,_ Aruba," Ludwig asked me. I nodded.

"Has been since he helped me get away from Spain," I said without thinking. I paled when I realized what I had said. "He really is a great guy though. He's just... lonely... well... I think I'm gonna go back to the meeting room now... Erm... you two should talk about... each other... _Vaarwel*_," I said before I turned around and walked away. I glanced over my shoulder when I reached the meeting room and saw Ludwig and Cat talking quietly to each other.

I slipped back in the door and was almost to my seat when I heard, "Hey Aruba!"

* * *

><p>Cat and Ludwig stood, flabbergasted as Aruba abruptly turned around and left. The German turned to Cat, confusion being the prominent emotion displayed on his features.<p>

"What just happened," he asked her. Cat tore her eyes away from Aruba's back and looked at Ludwig.

"Well, I believe I just figured out why Arabella seemed so disturbed earlier when I asked her how she knew Spain," the Brazilian said.

"That doesn't help make things any clearer to me Catarina," Ludwig snapped. She glared at him for a moment before looking to the meeting door thoughtfully.

"I was talking to Arabella earlier and she mentioned knowing Arthur because she had been "under his control" for a short period of time. She also mentioned that she knew Spain almost as a side note. I asked her how and she kind of paled. She looked scared, and wouldn't explain what happened between the two of them. So, from that, I deducted that Spain obviously did something horrible to her and her people but I couldn't figure out what aside from a mass murder type thing, but that would have been recorded. Just now though, she said that Tarzan- Holland..." there was an awkward pause in which Brazil turned bright pink. "helped her get away from Spain. From what Portugal told me growing up, Antonio forced a country he found into slavery when he first found them. With the way she acts when Antonio is mentioned, I'd wager all my money that she was that country."

"Spain forced her into slavery," Ludwig asked surprised. "That's horrible!" _Not as bad as the Holocaust you arschloch_, Ludwig thought to himself.

"Yeah, I know. So, I guess that means Holland really DID save her..."

"Ja, I guess so..." There was an awkward silence. Cat glanced up at Ludwig. He looked down at her and blushed when he met her gaze. He quickly moved his gaze to the floor, suddenly finding a particular speck on one of the tiles extremely interesting. She timidly put her hand on his arm, causing him to look back to her in alarm.

"Thank you... for defending me earlier Ludwig... You didn't have to do that." She smiled up at him as his face tinged an even deeper shade of pink.

"Ja, well, you're welcome. I... didn't like the way he was treating you... Women deserve respect. Arschloch's like him piss me off," he finished dismissively. Cat's smile faltered slightly as the German looked to the wall. _So he was just being polite. I should have known better,_ she thought bitterly. She quickly shook it off and took her hand off of his arm.

"Right... Um... we should probably get back to the meeting room... Ah _merda_ I have to apologize to Arthur. I shouldn't have punched him. Damn." Ludwig chuckled at her now slightly frazzled appearance.

"Ja, England can be a bit intimidating at times, but you should just do it. I doubt he could hold a grudge on you. Just go up to him and say it," he suggested helpfully. Cat looked back up at him and smiled gratefully.

"Right, thanks again," she said. He nodded and the two set off for the room in a friendly silence. They reached the doors and Ludwig pushed them open, allowing the two of them to see the room still in disarray. The first thing Cat noticed, however, was an albino with his arm slung around a flirtatious looking Arabella. Her mood of contentment that had begun during her time with Ludwig slipped quickly into one of confusion.

* * *

><p>I looked around and saw a certain albino walking my way with a big smirk on his face. I turned and waved at him, smiling slightly.<p>

"Hello Prussia," I said politely. He sauntered up to me and slung an arm around my waist. My eyebrows rose slightly but other than that I showed no emotion on my face.

"I heard the other day was your first time at the World Conference," he questioned. I nodded. "It's a shame you didn't get to meet the awesome me yesterday. I would have taken you out for a real date, unlike that totally unawesome America. What did he do, take you out for burgers and then to a horror movie? I bet he started crying and had to hide behind you. Totally unawesome. Besides, he tends to sleep with a girl any chance he gets. Go out with me tonight and I'll show you just how awesome I am." At that moment, the doors opened again and Cat and Ludwig came back in the room.

I struggled to contain my natural urge to punch him from the sexual innuendo. I slid out of his grip, turning to face him completely. I put my hand on his arm and smiled sweetly although I was quickly spiraling downward emotionally. _I suppose that makes sense... Alfred is very attractive. I'm sure all he has to do is smile and every girl within a ten yard radius comes running... Now focus on this cocky bastard. _

"As intriguing as I'm sure that would be, I don't sleep with man-whores; especially not ones who say 'awesome' and try to claim 'awesomeness' every two seconds. It's extremely unappealing to me." I continued to smile sweetly during all this and walked around him and to my seat purposefully swinging my hips more than necessary. I could practically hear his jaw drop. I actually DID hear it snap shut as well as hearing him begin to grumble to himself.

I laughed to myself and plopped down in my seat. I closed my eyes and began to relax when I heard the chair next to me move. I opened my eyes reluctantly and saw Cat sitting next to me with an earnest expression on her face.

"Cat...?" I said sounding unsure (A/N: I couldn't figure out how to word that properly. Sorry 'bout that.) I sat up completely and faced her when she didn't say anything. "Are you alright Cat? Why aren't you talking?"

"What's going on between you and Prussia," she asked me abruptly.

"Huh," was my articulate response. She got an exasperated look on her face and groaned.

"I thought you had a thing for Alfred," she said. My confusion grew.

"What are you talking about," I asked her.

"I mean when I walked in your room earlier you two looked like you were about to kiss, and yet here you are flirting away with Mr. 'I'm so awesome'! I don't understand! Alfie clearly likes you too! Why would you go for a jerk like Gilbert when you've got Alfred?"

"Cat! Excuse my French but what the fuck are you talking about," I interrupted. She sent me a glare so hard I could practically feel it and coward (is that the right word?) in my seat slightly.

"I SAW you flirting with Prussia when Ludwig and I came back in the room Arabella. Don't play dumb with me." I scoffed.

"I was NOT flirting with him!" Her glare turned into that of incredulity.

"Bull shit! I saw you put your hand on his arm and smile flirtatiously! I don't have the best track record and I know how to flirt and what it looks like. That was most DEFINITELY flirting, Aruba. Don't try and pull one over on me! You shouldn't sell yourself like this! You may have had it rough growing up with Spain but that doesn't mean you can do these kinds of things to yourself. You're better than getting guys just to get them."

"What the hell, Cat. Don't just assume things." I stood. "I was turning down that self absorbed jackass, not flirting. Ask him yourself. Just because you saw me doing that doesn't mean I was actually flirting with him. I made it look like that so I could get out of his grip. I'm not some whore who goes around getting men just because she can. Yes, I did have it tough growing up with Spain but that's only made me want to make things BETTER in the world, not sell myself because of some sick self-depreciating thing. Why would you assume I'm that kind of girl? I'm not. I would NEVER sell myself like that and I can't believe you would assume that because of the two seconds you saw of what happened between us. You didn't even hear the conversation! And besides, there's no doing wrong to Alfred when we aren't even together."

I turned and left the room as tears began to fall. _God dammit! You are not weak Arabella. Stop crying! You're a true country now! Old enough to go to the World Conference. Something as stupid as this shouldn't bother you! But she practically called me a whore! How can I not be upset when she wrongly accuses me like that? It doesn't matter! I'm still going home. I don't care what you say anymore right now. I just need to get out of here.Come on, be rational! Arabella, you can't just leave! Watch me. _

I ran outside, thankful I had worn comfortable clothing, and took off in the direction of the hotel. I viciously wiped the tears off my face and continued to run. This was one of the times I was thankful for being a small country that still needs physical labor. It meant I was in shape and could randomly run like this. About 8 blocks down I began to get tired. _Idiot. You shouldn't have run at a dead sprint the whole time! Now you're at least still 10 blocks away and completely exhausted. Shut up!_ I ran two more blocks and saw the hotel loom into sight.

Tears blurring my sight, I didn't notice the roots of a tree sticking above ground just ahead of me. (A/N: think of those random trees that the government plants in cities to make it look like they are at least trying to fight the pollution we're putting into our air due to all the exhaust from the cars and whatnot) I tripped over said root and felt a jerking pain in my ankle. I hissed softly and grabbed my ankle.

"No no no," i said quietly. "Not now. I'm so close to that stupid hotel." I stood and carefully applied my weight to my ankle. As soon as the pressure was added, my ankle practically screamed in protest. I sucked in a sharp breath. "Looks like I'll be limping back then..." I took a step, off of the hurt ankle, and straightened up. _At least show some dignity, now that you've run through a city you don't know crying your eyes out over a stupid guy and a girl calling you a name._ I took another step, making sure to quickly get off the ankle as began to protest.

I limped another 3 blocks before I heard my name being called. "Bells! Arabella! Hey! Stop!"

"Oh no," i said to myself. "Only Alfred calls me Bells. Dammit! Juts five more blocks. Come on Arabella, you can do it." I continued to walk as though I hadn't heard him calling my name. I managed to cross the street before he called my name again. "Four more..."

"Arabella, come on! Stop walking!" I was tempted to stop. _No! Don't you dare stop! You'll just become another one of those girls he sleeps with if you do. Keep going._ I took a deep breath and kept going. I heard cursing behind me as the stop light changed, forcing Alfred to stop. The tears flowed once more.

"Please, Bells, stop walking. Can't we talk?" The people around me began to send Alfred accusatory glares as the saw me crying and him desperately trying to get to me. One man touched my shoulder and said "We'll stop him when he gets here dear, don't you worry. If he hurt you we won't let him get to you." I nodded gratefully and continued my pathetic limp to the hotel. I was at the end of the block when I heard him cursing again.

"Dammit! Arabella, please stop! Can I get through please?" I heard him fighting the horde of people behind me. I crossed the street again. _Three more blocks! _For some reason, people continued to stop Alfred from reaching me until I got to the hotel. Ignoring every protest my ankle gave, I took off in a dead sprint for the elevator once i was inside the hotel. I got on and went up to my room.

I stepped off the elevator and limped to my room. My ankle was throbbing and tears were freely flowing down my face now. I got to my room and went in. I sat on the couch and gingerly inspected my ankle. It was swollen and bruised all around.

"Stupid Cat. Stupid ankle. Stupid Alfred," I said.

"What did I do wrong," I heard a voice say. I looked up quickly and saw Alfred standing in the room, hands on his knees, panting. I viciously wiped the tears off my face, although not quick enough for Alfred to not notice them. He came over and kneeled in front of my. He gently wiped my face and looked at me in confusion.

"What happened," he demanded.

"What do you care," I snapped. "You're probably just gonna find some other girl to get with anyway."

"What?"

"You probably have girls all over you Alfred! I shouldn't have been dumb enough to think you actually could like a girl like me. Just go find some random chick, America. It doesn't even matter anymore." I turned my head away from him.

"What are you talking about? I've only had like two girlfriends in my entire life Bells. There aren't any random 'chicks' out there that I want." He turned my head to look at him. I saw the sincerity in his eyes and felt the guilt instantly well up.

"_stront*_" i said. Tears began to well up again but I bit them back. "_Ik had het mis Alfred. Het spijt me zo"  
><em>He just looked at me.

"I'd respond to that but I honestly have no clue what you just said," he said with a smile.

"I apologized..." i said quietly. Alfred's smile grew. He sat on the couch and pulled me onto his lap, careful not to touch my ankle and hugged me tightly.

"It's cool, okay?" I nodded into his chest. He pulled back and looked at me seriously. "Now what made you think all that? I'm the hero after all. And right now, you are clearly a damsel in distress." I looked down sheepishly.

"Prussia may have said some things..." I admitted. His expression darkened when I looked back at him.

"I'm gonna kill him," Alfred said simply.

* * *

><p><strong>Ta-Da! Wow, longest chapter yet! What did you guys think? <strong>

**Here are the translations!**

E voce: and you?

Broer: brother

zus: sister

Bruder: brother

Vaarwel: bye

Merda: Shit

Stront: shit

Ik had het mis Alfred. Het spijt me zo: I was wrong Alfred I'm so sorry.

**England:Well... that was certainly full of drama and revelations...**

**America: I'm gonna kill Prussia man! That was so not heroic of him!**

**Prussia: *hides behind Germany***

**Germany: *sighs* Review, ja? **

**Me: Bye everyone! xD  
><strong>


	7. I'm so sorry

**My Dearest Readers,**

**I am afraid I can no longer continue this story. You see, I have lost my muse for this story. I've set it down and come back to it multiple times to see if I could possibly write more and each time I try, nothing comes from it. I end up staring at my computer for hours trying to think of what to write. So, until my muse is able to return, I am afraid I have to go on Hiatus. Thank you all for reading it until now and I will try to come back as soon as I can. I promise when I come back the story will be better than ever. So, without further avoidances and grievances, I bid you all, adieu. **

**Much love,**

**Dance-Love-Forever 3  
><strong>


	8. Information Update For All Readers

Hiiiiiiiiiiii

So! I've gotten my muse back for this lovely lovely story, however, I do have some news for all readers that are currently up to date with Open To The World.

Upon rereading, I've decided to do a mass editing on the entire story. And thus, I will be going in and changing the information within the chapters and the general format in the way it is written. As it has been two years since I last tried to write for this, my style has changed quite a bit and I plan on making the reformatted version more in depth and better thought out. There will be better details and a thicker plot.

SO. Bear with me for a while, please. I may repost the story entirely under a new title. I know more of the history of the main countries and where I want them to go and how I want them to interact so at the moment (I have not begun the editing process as of yet) I am assuming that much of the story will change.

I apologize for this, but trust me, it is necessary. I also have plans for other stories that are yet to be posted involving characters from Kingdom Hearts. Please look forward to it! I hope this new version of Open To The World can live up to all of your expectations. I promise I will do my best with the time I am given to write.


End file.
